


Mysterious Teal Eyes

by MidoriEmmi



Series: Merfolk Chronicles [2]
Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Multi, Sequel, Supernatural AU - Freeform, merman au, there are definitely reasons to fear Iwatobi waters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-26 11:33:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5003194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidoriEmmi/pseuds/MidoriEmmi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto refuses to believe the merfolk of his childhood stories are responsible for Rin's disappearance. He meets an intriguing new figure at the beach one sunny day, and it is one meeting he will never forget. MermanAU. For SouMako Week 2015 on Tumblr. Oneshot.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mysterious Teal Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Once more, no time to write more than this for a pairing week ;-; Please read Pristine Blue Scales before this, as it might explain things much better^^ Enjoy!

The sea has never felt welcoming to the inhabitants of Iwatobi. Some may argue that it hides wonders that people are simply too afraid to uncover, but others fear for their lives more than anything else. There is no real proof sans the occasional story that has far too many inconsistencies to be believable, and yet the small town cannot seem to escape its age-old beliefs of beings from the sea.

Tachibana Makoto sighs in resignation as his siblings fight over who gets to ride on his back. Their family is at the beach for the weekend, and the sands are crowded with both people and the warm rays of the morning sun. His parents are under the shade as usual after slathering sunblock on themselves and the twins.

It's a wonderful day to be out, and the brunet attempts to forget the nagging issue at the back of his mind for just a bit.

His best friend, Matsuoka Rin, has been missing for more than a month now. It was a stressful time for their families when it initially happened, and there was much panic all about town. It was difficult calming down the distressed mother and sister, more so as there was literally no hint of where he could have gone left behind.

Things have more or less died down, but he still hears hushed whispers in the public about merfolk having a hand in the disappearance. It's difficult to bite back his retorts and anger at their insensitive words, and he takes to clenching his fists whenever he walks by them. There are simply no such things as merfolk. Rin could have just left for his own, practical reason. The redhead may be hotheaded, but he knows better than to pull something this irrational on his loved ones.

...it would have been nice if he had just said something though. It would have been nice.

He sighs, and brushes it off when Ran asks if he's alright. Makoto promised playtime with the younger ones, and he's going to keep it.

The Tachibana matriarch calls for a break, and everyone flocks to her for refreshments and snacks. Her handmade goods are one of a kind, and her eldest son sometimes wonders why she isn't making a living off baking or cooking yet.

Makoto feels a warm breeze tousle his hair, and when he looks to where the waves slap gently at the rocks, he blinks. There's someone sitting there, and it looks as if he might jump into the dangerous waters at any moment. Something in him tenses, and after asking to be excused he runs there and yells out to the figure.

"Hey! It's dangerous up there!"

Said figure turns around to glance at him, bored. Then he turns back around to continue watching the horizon. The brunet is bristled that he's effectively been ignored, but at least it doesn't seem like the other has any suicidal tendencies at the moment.

"...hey?"

He tries again, for the sake of dispelling the awkwardness.

"I get it. Now leave me alone."

It's a soft mutter, and Makoto barely catches it over the sound of the waves. He smiles nervously as the raven huffs and jumps down from the rocks, stumbling a little in the sand. Green eyes blink as they take in the form of one just as filled out if not more than him, not to mention slightly taller. Makoto also notices gorgeous orbs of the strangest colour, as if someone melted into a vat the softest emerald and poured it into a pool of Iwatobi's seawaters.

He notices only too late that he's been staring, and red adorns his cheeks as he apologizes.

"I couldn't care less, honestly," The teal-eyed boy comments, "So stop being weird about it.

They are not the most comforting words he hears, but at least Makoto feels somewhat forgiven. His companion plonks himself down on the sand and once more lapses into his own world.

"Are you waiting for something...?" The brunet muses, attempting to follow that stern gaze, but to no avail.

"Not really."

Makoto jumps.

"U-Um it wasn't really a question..."

"...you're hopeless."

He wants to scream internally. His first meeting with this weird guy and already he is screwing up so bad. Makoto has no reply, and he joins the other on the sand, relishing the way the grains sift through his long fingers.

"May I have your name? I'm Makoto."

It feels odd that the first words they exchange are not an introduction. It would only be polite to address someone by their name.

"..."

He's pretty sure he asked loud enough.

"...Sousuke. That's my name."

"It's a nice name."

"Hardly."

Makoto just wants to smile wider at the embarrassment dusted over Sousuke's face. His attempts to make conversation are batted off almost immediately, but he doesn't stop trying. He believes all these people need is time, and they would find it in themselves to open up. The raven eventually starts answering, albeit in one word answers. Makoto takes this chance to ask once more his question, reworded.

"Is there something about the sea that intrigues you so?"

Sousuke sighs.

"You're so persistent. I just like the sea...I feel safe."

Few in town would associate their resident water body with any positive words, much less the word 'safe'. He's had his fair share of scary experiences, and for a moment he is stunned at the choice of words.

"That's not really something I'd say," Makoto starts, "I'm scared of the ocean."

He continues when Sousuke looks at him with an eyebrow raised.

"I nearly drowned once. Not an experience I'd like to go through again."

Silence befalls them once more, and Makoto broods. He only looks up when sand is flicked towards his face and he squeaks in surprise.

"There's nothing wrong," the raven mutters, "Though maybe that's why you can't remember."

"...what."

Sousuke doesn't answer, and he gets up. He looks one more time out to sea, and then walks away. The brunet feels just a tinge of annoyance, and he opens his mouth to say something.

"Hey, that's rude!"

"Makoto! Ren and Ran are looking for you!"

He whirls around to meet gazes with his petite mother, and smiles apologetically. He must have lost track of time.

"Ah...sorry about that."

"It's alright. Although...who were you talking to just now?"

"Him? He's-"

The waves splash onto his feet, and a seagull flies overhead.

"...who?" She asks again, confused.

"No one actually. I must have been dreaming," he says, trying his utmost to look like he trusts his own words, "Let's go back."

Makoto leaves, and looks back just once when Ran comes running into view. He takes in the unblemished fine sand, and the footprints on it.

There is only one pair, and they are his own.

The moon high in the night sky paints a gorgeous display upon a pitch dark canvas together with a harmony of glimmering stars. It would be full within the next few days, and the brunet is looking forward to seeing it at it's brightest. He doesn't want to sleep just yet, and he spends time at his windowsill staring out to where he sees the Matsuoka residence and the vast sea.

He still hasn't forgotten that strange boy he met staring out to sea. What could possibly be so enrapturing about the source of his nightmares since that time? Makoto can't help but let his personal feelings get in the way where the ocean is concerned, and yet it's not wrong, for there must be a reason people fear what lies beneath so much. It doesn’t explain the weird chill he gets when he thinks of Sousuke leaving no trace of himself behind, however.

A part of him tells him he’s just experienced something unusual, but he brushes it aside. It was a hot afternoon. It must have been some illusion he carelessly thought to be real.

Though for some odd reason his dreams a filled with a familiar bluish green space, and the silence and safety it provides dispels his unease. His dreams are normal, but he feels as if someone has placed a filter over his eyes, and it gives him an odd feeling. Makoto feels a cool, strong embrace, a deep silky lullaby of a voice murmuring into his ear, and is almost disappointed when he has to wake up to face the new day.

Some days see the brunet walking along the path facing the sea. The dance of the sea foam still sends an unpleasant sensation along his spine, but the sound is for some reason, comforting. It just vaguely reminds him of his recent dreams, and that makes his strolls at the very least, bearable.

There aren’t many rocks along the Iwatobi shore. Sand is almost all there is, and whatever comes close are mostly pebbles and the occasional intact conch shell. Only one section of the beach does have a collection of anything big enough to be called rocks, and Makoto finds a mysterious need to have a look.

Sea foam fizzes and sloshes against the jagged hard surfaces of the natural structure. The brunet looks up, and his mouth falls open.

“Sousu...ke?”

“...”

Another wave crashes, and Makoto is sure he isn’t mistaken about the coal black hair and focused posture. He climbs, he hops, and he sits himself beside the brooding boy. The cool sea breeze and the gentle evening rays caress both their faces, and the brunet lets out a relaxed sigh.

“Why are you here?”

Another mutter, almost one with the whisper of the wind that tousles his hair.

“...I’m not sure,” Makoto admits, because he honestly isn’t, “I just felt like coming up here.”

He doesn’t elaborate, because there is nothing else. Silence befalls them as they continue watching wave after wave swirl and woosh to the melody of the tide. The brunet takes notice of the slightly warm surface beneath his palms, of the darkening sky, alight with the colours of the brightest campfire.

The rippled surface of the Iwatobi waters has always been a little murky, yet the setting sun takes no notice of it, bouncing, darting, touching the waters with its orange rays. The chatter of the seagulls make it known that the day is slowly but surely, coming to an end. Makoto almost lets the relaxing sounds lull him into a daydream when he hears a heavy sigh.

"You should go, green eyes."

The raven gets up and stretches, and lilthly lands on the sand in one fell swoop.

"W-Wait!"

He's not done, they've barely even talked! Makoto almost clumsily clambers down, but he knows, even as he trudges home.

That the only footprints there are his own.

It is a cool night, a starry blanket tucking the sky to sleep. Makoto is warm and snug, yes, yet his mind fails to calm itself, and his eyelids flutter open. The Tachibana household is sound asleep, yet instead of peace within the silence, the brunet can almost feel the weight of his jumbled thoughts on his mind. He thinks about the day’s event, thinks about the mysterious boy out at sea, thinks about how his senses seem to have tricked him once more.

He thinks about Rin. Those sharp red eyes with the most fiery passion, and a smile that lights up the moon. It still hurts, how his best friend never said a word to him. Because it would have been nice.

It would have been nice to have a goodbye.

He tries to count sheep, like he always tells his younger siblings to. He sees a neatly cut field, fireflies scattered by the dozens, as if they are the very fruit that spring forth from the fertile soil. The brunet reaches exactly fifty-five sheep, and then he once more falls into the comforting bluish green space that paints his dreams, his thoughts.

Makoto has a favourite cafe. A quaint little place overlooking the Iwatobi waters, yet not so close as to invoke memories of an event from his childhood better left forgotten. They serve really good hot chocolate, the best lattes, and also desserts that can rival his mom’s. He loves their red velvet cake in particular, the way the vivid red is layered to perfection, the way the light tang of the generous cream cheese melts right on top of his tastebuds.

“...this is good.”

A smile lights up the brunet’s face.

“Isn’t it?? I knew you’d love it, Gou!”

Matsuoka Gou nods, a light smile on her face as she daintily puts another forkful of the delectable cake into her mouth. Makoto is glad to see her in higher spirits. Her brother’s disappearance was and is toughest on her after all. She loves and respects him the way only a spoilt younger sister can, and her smile since that time has all but dissolved like foam into the unforgiving sea.

Even now she stares out to where land meets sea, almost as if doing so would bring her beloved sibling back.

“The sea,” she murmurs, tucking a few rebellious strands of her hair behind her ear, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Makoto blinks.

“I...suppose.”

The skies are clear and the sun beats down harsh and bright on the pale sands of the beach. The water sparkles and twinkles, as if someone spilled silver glitter right at the surface, the waves ensuring it never sinks. Indeed, the sea is beautiful. Dangerously beautiful. There is reason their town is rife with old tales of the deep, of evil, bewitching merfolk out to lure humankind to their deaths.

It is in fact one of those tales that many use to explain Rin’s disappearance, and it just adds to his fear of the big blue. Gou sighs, and looks back down at her half-finished apple juice.

“Do you think maybe,” she traces a pattern down the condensed water along the side of the glass, “The sea thought my brother was so beautiful...they wanted him to join them?”

The brunet doesn’t answer. He doesn’t have one.

Makoto makes sure Gou gets home safe, and then he takes a solitary walk home. It seems like such a pity to head home when the sun is still high in the sky, and he does want to take the time to think about the redhead’s words. He skims along the beach, watching the children run about, parents sunbathing, and the occasional brooding teenager. It is kind of enjoyable, this aimless wandering, and the brunet lets his feet lead the way.

It isn’t long before his sneakers are off, and fine sand sifts through his toes. He doesn’t stop walking, and soon there is no one else around. Makoto sees familiar rocks come into view, and an equally familiar figure sitting atop.

“Sousuke!”

The raven’s eyes dart open, and he looks down at the sound of his name.

“Why are you here again??”

Makoto replies by climbing up to join him.

“Why are you always here??”

The other boy shrugs, scratching the base of his neck.

“Fair enough.

Third time’s the charm, they always say. It can’t always be coincidence to find moody Sousuke on the exact same rock, in the exact same position, at seemingly all times of the day. The sea seems particularly unsettled today, crashing and tossing against the jagged rocks, like a child who can’t fall asleep. Makoto doesn’t care for it. He just wants to know why, and how the other is somehow always there.

“My name is Sousuke,” he says, almost as if he knows what Makoto is thinking, “I’m here because looking at the sea...I feel like I’m home.”

It’s like a switch is flipped, because suddenly, Makoto can’t seem to find an end to his questions. He asks, and he asks, and they are all answered, even if not directly. Sousuke is not one of many words, but his love for the sea twinkles in his eyes. He points to different sections of the beach, and tells stories of his observations. Of that blonde child who thought it was smart to swim past the safety line without any floatation gear, of that bespectacled teen who was pranked by his buddies to go swimming out deep when clearly, he doesn’t have the sufficient swimming skills. Makoto points out a young child who looks like Sousuke in the distance running from his exasperated mom, and the raven laughs.

The brunet’s breath hitches, because it is a beautiful, tinkling sound.

Sousuke stops when he realises Makoto is staring at him, and for a while awkward silence is all there is. It makes the green-eyed boy feel as if he’s seen something he’s not supposed to, and he tries to find another topic. Anything to get their amiable energy going again.

“I had a friend who loved the sea,” he starts, “Almost as much as you, I believe.”

The other raises a dark eyebrow.

“Had?”

Makoto nods, a faint look of regret entering his eyes. He speaks about Rin, about how he always talked about a friend from the sea. He speaks about how his friend had only just returned from studying in Australia for the first time in years, and how one day...it all just fell apart. It isn’t hard to see why people would automatically associate it with merfolk, especially in their little town. It is just hard to accept that he’s probably never seeing his dear friend again.

Why couldn’t they just be a normal town? Why did they have to have so many of such legends, or weird stories that seem to serve no purpose but to terrify the living daylights out of all who believe them?

He ponders so much about his own questions, he doesn’t see the stern expression the other  has on his angled features. A look as dark as the shadow of of the new moon.

Weeks pass, and everyday is beach day for Makoto. He learns a faster way to climb, a more comfortable position to sit. Most of all he learns more about his friend, the way he sees the world through the lenses of the sea. They speak, they chat, and occasionally the brunet brings his mother’s mouthwatering snacks to share. And even though all of Sousuke’s answers to questions about his personal life or his family yield more questions than answers, he still finds himself enjoying the company.

“You said you are scared of the sea...right?”

“Yeah.”

Sousuke looks down at the waves breaking against their vantage point. They may be high up, but their distance to the deep is still far too close for someone afraid of the sea to be sitting.

“We’re very close.”

“I’m fine when someone’s with me,” Makoto smiles, his eyes becoming upturned crescents, “And it’s been years since that incident...I’m better now.”

Indeed, he does feel safe, especially when he knows Sousuke is there. Weeks turn into months, and Makoto learns to love the call of the seagulls, the songs of the wind. He learns to appreciate the melody of the waves, and for the first time since Rin’s disappearance he laughs without a care in the world. Sousuke is a fortress, tall and strong. He is mysteriously aloof to all but the calling of the vast Iwatobi waters, and a slight obsession with Makoto’s soft locks, brushing them with his fingers at every available opportunity.

It is odd, having someone complimenting him on his hair of all things. But Makoto can’t say he doesn’t enjoy it.

His parents seem thrilled to see their eldest son in a good mood. They choose not to comment on his leaving the house so often, and to the brunet that’s the best thing they can do for him. He needs the fresh air, the gentle sea breeze.

He also needs Sousuke, his new friend.

Sousuke has a gaze colder than the glaciers in the Pacific Ocean, and sometimes Makoto feels like his spirit is somewhere far away. It always feels as if the raven is leaving him behind mentally, as if his consciousness has swum to the deepest depths of the ocean, not looking back. In those moments, the brunet is genuinely scared. What if one day he never snaps out of that trance?

What if one day he never comes back?

His thoughts would always run wild like a pride of hunting lionesses on a plain. Then almost as if hearing his thoughts, Sousuke would always look back, and he’d always give a tiny smile. He would smile and Makoto would smile too. It makes the brunet feel like it’s alright, that his worries are for naught.

Their frequent meetings become the highlight of Makoto’s days. His afternoons are spent on homework, and on household errands. Occasional early evenings are spent with his bare feet kicking up sand, as he takes off across the length of the beach he has learnt to love. He continues until the chatter and laughter of other beach-goers die down, and all that fills his ears is the conversation of the rushing tide.

Once again Sousuke is sitting just where he’s supposed to. Once again Makoto feels his heart swell up with happiness.

It is funny how the raven’s attire never changes. His muscled form is always clad in a black top, with long sleeves. The dark fabric is worn and ragged in some places; yet it hangs off his frame just right. His shorts are the colour of young branches in spring, and a little worn around the edges. Makoto has asked many times about his choice of clothes, and never has Sousuke given a direct answer.

Not that he’s ever given one when it comes to details of his personal life and family.

“...you still can’t remember?”

“Remember what?”

Had they started playing a guessing game he wasn’t aware of? Makoto furrows his eyebrows in confusion. Their snacks for today include coffee and a couple of pastries from his favourite cafe, and the brunet makes sure to have a tight hold on the styrofoam cup. Sousuke huffs.

“So you don’t.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean??”

“...if you can’t remember, it’s fine,” the raven mutters, getting up.

“Hey! Get back here!”

In his haste Makoto forgets that the hot beverage is still in his hands. It spills, and the brunet slips, arms uselessly flailing as he braces for the impact on the raging waters. He manages to catch a glimpse of Sousuke’s horror-filled features before he snaps his eyes shut.

The brunet feels a warmth grabbing hold on him before he hits the waters, and in the few seconds he’s underwater, he revisits old memories. Of a friendly aged face, a storm out at sea, and a broken promise to return. He also sees the terrifying form of a fanged mermaid coming for him, and he surfaces screaming his lungs out.

Makoto doesn’t care that he’s in someone’s safe and assuring embrace. Images from a memory long brushed aside come back in full force, stabbing and piercing his mental safety net. His fear blurs the line between and imagination and truth, and he's absolutely frozen.

"Oi, Makoto!"

A slap to his face snaps him out of it, and he realises the warmth that's been enveloping him is in fact Sousuke. The brunet clings on tighter, and he finds himself trembling; whether from the cold or from the absolute trauma he has just gone through, he doesn't know. They somehow make it to dry land, wet and dripping. Their clothes and uncovered skin are a disgusting mess, all plastered with a mixture of seawater and sand.

"...you alright...?"

Makoto wants to reply, but he’s suddenly struck by visions. Visions of red and of blue. Visions of nightfall at the shores, of moonlight on glowing sands. It hurts his head, how nothing is making sense, and he is most definitely not alright.

“I…” he swallows, “I gotta go.”

His knees are so weak he can barely walk a few steps without stumbling, but he runs anyway. Makoto doesn’t even turn back at the sound of his name. He doesn’t stop until he is right at the base of the stairs leading up to his house. Only then does he slow down, and take a few greedy gulps of air. He doesn’t even have an excuse at the tip of his tongue when his mother opens the door, a hand going to her mouth at the sight of her drenched son.

He’s just so tired.

A hot shower does nothing to clear his thoughts. He pats his hair dry, and tries to think of something to explain the smell of the sea about him, his constant trips out. Makoto thinks of nothing, and his parents’ faces are grim. It doesn’t take a genius to see that he’s been ignoring the urban legends his mother has been telling religiously to him and his siblings, to spend so much time where sand flows into the sea.

His parents don’t argue, they don’t forbid him from going to the beach. They just tell him to remember what happened to Rin, and that immediately ends their discussion. Makoto feels bitterness at the sound of his lost friend’s name, but he understands.

Makoto manages to go for about a month without seeing Sousuke. He avoids the sea altogether in fact, always taking a detour home, or finding some reason to stay back at school. His life has once more returned to ordinary days, but nighttime brings with it another brand of conflict.

So much darkness, it buries and suffocates him. The brunet feels like there’s a weight upon his chest, and he can’t breathe. Murky darkness surrounds him, and it is as if he’s drowning. His lungs hurt, his head hurts. The comforting bluish green that had been home to his peaceful dreams a month ago has all but gone, instead replaced with horrific visions of being trapped. Makoto feels haunted, like he’s being watched in his unreal suffering.

He feels like he’s being watched by a pair of mysterious teal eyes.

Makoto wakes up covered in cold sweat, chest heaving and absolutely exhausted. He doesn’t even know what comes over him when he all but snatches his phone and keys from the nightstand, and leaves his house. He lets the wind whip hair back, and the light of the streetlamps light his way. The bluish sands of Iwatobi’s shore greets his arrival, and he daringly steps forward, ignoring the grains sneakingly flowing into his slippers.

He walks the path he already knows by heart, and ends up at ominous looking rocks, looking out to an equally ominously looking horizon.

...there is no one there.

How pathetic, he thinks. Makoto chuckles at his ridiculous actions. He’s probably been nothing but irrational and delusional this whole time. Sousuke was probably just a dream, a figment of his imagination. But he was so...real.

“Mako...to?”

The brunet snaps his head around so fast he’s surprised it hasn’t snapped right off his neck.

“Sou…” he whispers, vision becoming blurry, “Sousuke!”

He doesn’t know why he does it, but he jumps, and lands on the other, sending them both falling over onto the sand. Makoto doesn’t care for formalities at that moment. He doesn’t even care when Sousuke flips their positions, and the brunet’s on his back, facing the starlit sky and his companion. He feels bewitched, like the raven has him under powerful spell. His heart feels so full, like it’s about to burst.

All this simply because, he managed to see Sousuke again.

There is nary a centimetre of space between them, their limbs entwined, like the roots of the flora along the shore. His heartbeat drums, and drums in his ears. The sea breeze dives across Makoto’s silky locks, and bristles past the stiff strands on the other’s head. He can’t hear anything, see anything, except for the one right in front of him.

An illuminated night sky looks down upon them both, and Makoto hesitantly reaches out. Sousuke’s sun-kissed skin has barely a tan in this light; more of a yellow tint to what is probably the actual paleness of his skin. He stares at Makoto with orbs of the clearest caribbean waters, the brightest of gems. His smouldering gaze holds nothing but beauty and mystery, and yet the brunet can’t stop staring, can’t stop falling.

He has already hit the ground face down, and he can’t get up.

They touch, with the lightness of a single feather. They touch, and Makoto feels like electric currents are running right under the surface of his skin. Sousuke’s lips are thin, yet moist, and they cover his own in the most pleasurable of ways. The brunet shyly darts his tongue out, to find out if the teal-eyed boy’s lips are as good as his skills. It turns into a battle for dominance, and Makoto can’t find it in himself to lose.

The two part with a messy trail of saliva, evidence of their hormone-charged rendezvous, the moon their only witness. Their chests heave, rising and falling with every intense breath they take in each other’s presence. Neither blink, neither speak, they simply stare in silence, and no words are exchanged.

Makoto wonders if his confusing feelings have anything to do with the fact, that he feels like his breath is being taken away with every second Sousuke continues looking at him with those glowing, teal eyes.

“You,” the raven starts, “You came back.”

He smiles nervously.

“I did...yes I did.”

Sousuke lets out a sigh, of relief, perhaps? His left hand finds Makoto’s, and the brunet feels a warm grip tighten around his palm. He squeezes back, and is replied in kind. The moon is almost full, and the sea is alight with the reflections of hundreds of them. It is funny, how one with a gaze as icy as the waters off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean can have hands as warm as the passionate lava flowing underneath the earth’s crust.

What are they now? The brunet isn’t sure they are “just friends” anymore, and yet he can’t bring himself to say so. The rolling waves echo his conflicted sentiments, and he sighs, brushing his fringe back.

Suddenly, he feels his wrist being grabbed.

“S-Sou...??”

He trails off in complete puzzlement. Sousuke doesn’t let go, and is instead inspecting every detail of the softly glowing bracelet clad on his left wrist. Makoto wants to pull away, but even he doesn’t understand why his normally mundane accessory is becoming the stuff of myths.

“I knew it,” the raven says gruffly, letting go, “How could I have been so stupid??”

Makoto stumbles back at the sudden release, hand instinctively going to his wrist. He remembers now...sort of. It was a gift from someone special. Rin maybe? He closes his eyes and tries to remember, but it is as if someone covers his mind with a translucent blanket of fog, and he can’t make any connections.

He asks Sousuke, because he’s frustrated at all these things he doesn’t know, and he’s already at his limit.

“...I changed my mind. You don’t need to know,” the raven says, eyes dark as the midnight shadows, “You don’t need to remember.”

The brunet clenches his fist.

“I don’t ‘NEED’ to remember?!”

How DARE Sousuke assumes he is in any position to decide anything?! Makoto grits his teeth, all pleasant feelings forgotten for the moment. If he doesn’t find out what he wants by tonight, then he truly is a naive idiot. The raven doesn’t reply, and he simply looks him in the eye for the longest of times. It is suddenly silent, too silent. Sousuke reaches over, and he yanks the bracelet right off.

Makoto gasps.

“I’m sorry,” is all he says, and he crushes the fragile pearls in his palm.

It all hits the brunet at once, with the force of a thousand waves. He all but slumps over, scenes of a forgotten time flooding his mind. Rin is smiling, but he’s...sad. He remembers conversations, most definitely a time after the night of that fateful birthday party. It feels like a slap in the face when images of pristine blue scales on a slim tail start filling the gaps in his flawed memories. Makoto recalls melancholy, a promise, a set of glowing blue eyes.

He looks into Sousuke’s glowing teal eyes, and his heart all but crashes down, and down.

They were right. Everyone was right. Iwatobi was never safe from merfolk, and the urban legends were never complete lies. What’s truly terrifying is how they take on not the form of a fanged, mutilated monster out for blood, but instead such a gorgeous, innocent human form.

How unforgivable.

Makoto glares right back at Sousuke, his emerald orbs a typhoon of rage and betrayal. The raven vaguely flinches at his intense stare, and the brunet finally blinks. He never asked for an emotional roller coaster when he decided to come out for the night. He never wanted to remember how it was he, who helped Rin disappear without a trace.

Most of all, he never asked to fall in love with Sousuke of all people.

The skies are much cloudier than he remembers. Makoto feels a wetness along his cheek, and his fingers come away sparkling. He doesn’t remember crying, but then again he doesn’t remember a lot of things.

“Makoto…I...”

Sousuke mutters. Just like the first time they met. He stands mere centimetres taller than the brunet, with legs that look very much real. Yet his irises have an unnatural luminescence to them, and Makoto wonders just how unfortunate his luck is, to have fallen into a story of his own.

“You don’t have to say anything,” the brunet grits out, “This ends tonight.”

He looks back up, and it is a mistake, because the pain he sees in those teal orbs reflect the exact splinters he feels embedded in his chest.

“And this time...I won’t be coming back.”

It hurts, and the nightmares return. But Makoto makes good on his promise, and he doesn’t even come close to seeing the shoreline several days of the week. The fact that he’s having exams make it easier to distract himself, and he pushes forward. He doesn’t even know where his strength comes from. Is it fear for himself, of the gorgeous, deadly sea? Is it fear for his family, because they love him so, and would be gravely hurt by his loss? Is it fear of the unknown world he had slowly started to love? Or is it perhaps all of the above?

His free time is tortured by unnecessary thoughts, and the brunet wonders if it will ever end.

Makoto tries to look excited, but it’s hard when he has to return to a place he has been trying to avoid. Ren and Ran look like the holidays came early however, and the brunet supposes he can accommodate his beloved siblings for a little longer. His mother is all smiles as she gently rubs sunscreen on his shoulders, and he decides he’ll just play along. They’ve been planning this weekend trip to the beach for a while, and it wouldn’t do to be a spoilsport and stay at home simply because of his selfish wants.

Also he sort of, just maybe, he does miss the sound of the waves a little.

It doesn’t take long for him to get restless, and with permission from his parents, he’s off on his own again, wandering aimlessly along the shoreline. He finds himself walking an all too familiar path, and he stops. The chatter and screams of young kids are much softer, and Makoto finds himself at a quieter part of the sands.

“...I know you’re there.”

He doesn’t need to turn around to know someone is behind him, and he doesn’t flinch when he feels a bigger hand slide into his own.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Makoto bites out, his words coming out more harshly than he had intended, “For lying? For keeping so many essential secrets from me??”

Sousuke sighs.

“I never intended to lie. Someone else was in charge of your memories, and the only thing I knew was the fact that they were hidden from you.”

“I don’t care. I’ve overstayed my welcome, and I need to leave.”

“No.”

The grip on his hand tightens.

“No?”

“I can’t let you go again,” Sousuke says, “At least, listen to me...or something.”

Makoto pushes his hand off, and he turns around.

“I’m not leaving my family.”

The brunet is resolute about that one fact. He loves them far too much, and whatever the raven’s about to say, he knows it has to be something about that. His already grim frown is pulled into a taut line when Sousuke goes silent.

“You do seem...very close to them.”

Makoto doesn’t understand why his chest feels like it’s being stabbed when he even thinks of having to leave the other and pretend they never met. Yet he understands that the pain would be far worse if he continues letting himself be involved in the supernatural forces he has so feared for most of his life. Rin can do whatever he wants, he’s never been close to his family anyway. But he on the other hand, he can’t do that.

He feels a cool heaviness on his upper chest, and looks down to realise Sousuke has fastened a necklace of the most dazzling turqoise gemstone, one unlike any other he has ever seen. It’s big, and bulky, and looks like it’s worth it’s weight in gold, even diamonds.

But to Makoto, no amount of diamonds in the world can replace his family.

“I can’t,” he whispers, gently taking it off, “I can’t...no...I’m sorry.”

He doesn’t add anymore as he puts the expensive gift back into Sousuke’s hands, and his heart remains just as closed as he leaves.

It’s almost aggravating by now, how he never gets a good night’s rest thanks to his merfolk affiliation. Black waves, rolling thunder and crashes of lightning form the setting for his next nightmare. He’s on the rock...their rock, overlooking the angry sea. Then, it all stops. The darkness, the terrifying whirlpool. They abate. The shore is as peaceful as he remembers, and Makoto jumps down onto the sands.

That is when he hears a suspicious splash, and he turns around.

“Makoto!”

He sees a toothy smile he’s almost forgotten.

“...Rin!” the brunet yells, still frozen to his spot on the sand, “But...how...I thought…”

Rin laughs.

“You’re still dreaming,” he explains, a slender hand reaching out to brush his own bangs back.

“If you want answers, come to the shore. You know where.”

Makoto almost doesn’t realise he’s awake until all that fills his vision is his bedroom ceiling. He kicks his blanket off, and with phone and keys in hand, he’s once more running to the beach in his pajamas. He’s an awkward sight, but he doesn’t care. He needs answers.

No one is there at the rocks. Makoto thinks a little harder, and he goes beyond that point. He comes to an isolated part of the beach, a place he just barely remembers coming to often, once upon a time. The brunet lets the light of his phone screen lead the way, and he jingles his keys, as if by doing so it would somehow summon whatever, or whoever he’s looking for.

The same splashes from his dreams interrupts his thoughts, and he makes his way to the very edge of the waters.

Makoto sees first a tail of the hottest lava, of scales sparkling with the deepest crimson. His eyes follow the pattern of the shimmering bits, and they eventually meet with a glowing red he’s missed for months now.

“Rin…”

Rin gives a hearty chuckle, and he nods.

“Makoto...it’s been a while.”

They share a hug, and Makoto feels glad, if just for now, that he has his memories back. It was painful having to separate that night, and he feels so complete knowing his best friend didn’t just up and leave him like he had thought. The redhead has changed physically. Besides the obvious parts, his skin has gotten paler, and his hair a tad longer. It isn’t altogether a bad look, but it just reminds Makoto that his friend is already one with the supernatural.

There’s this distance that already separates them.

“Makoto.”

A flash of blue jumps out to sit beside Rin. Those sapphire orbs are just as he remembers, focused and cool.

“Haruka.” he says, tersely.

Makoto forces a smile. He’s not quite sure what greeting is appropriate towards someone who has lied to him. He sighs.

“I thought I told you to take care of that bracelet,” Haruka starts, “Took me a whole week to make it.”

“Why did you lie?”

The brunet strikes back unhesitantly. The truth is hard to accept, for he’s done nothing but keep all his promises to the merman, for years and years. Rin looks confused, eyes darting between the both of them.

“I had to make sure.”

Makoto clenches his fists.

“Make sure? Of what?” he says, frustration pouring out, “You knew I wouldn’t tell, and then you take away all my memories??”

“What?! Haru, what did you do?!”

This time Haruka has to deal with two pairs of accusatory eyes at him, and he exhales.

“I was wrong...I’m sorry.”

“You better be sorry.”

They all freeze. Makoto knows that voice all too well, but he has never heard such power, such anger hidden within before. The mermens’ eyes are wide, and they immediately sit up, however they can with their tails. Sousuke steps out from the shadows, and his glowing teal orbs are the angriest the brunet has ever seen them. The tall raven steps forward with confidence, and the other two bow to him respectfully. Haruka doesn’t look happy, but he concedes.

“I apologise, Sousuke-sama.”

Sousuke clicks his tongue in annoyance.

“You may relax.”

He turns to look at Makoto, who in his surprise lets out a squeak. Sousuke’s upper torso is unclothed, and for the first time the brunet sees what lies beneath the mysterious black sleeves. The raven has intricate teal tribal-like tattoos crawling the length of his right arm, and on his upper arm, at the shoulder, is a scar. A long, slithering scar, which doesn’t look healed over nicely. It stands out, the erupted skin disrupting the patterns so carefully lining almost every inch of his arm.

Sousuke waits until Makoto is done inspecting the length of his limb.

“I never knew you were affiliated,” he says, pointing with his thumb, “With these troublemakers of all merpeople.”

Haruka twitches.

“We are NOT troublemakers, your highness. You just happen to have a stick up your ass.”

“Oi, Haru!”

Rin is just as red as his hair, and he covers his face, groaning.

“I see your mate has been teaching you weird things, but unfortunately, I won’t be having legs for much longer.”

Haruka mutters a few curses under his breath, and the redhead whacks him in the arm.

“Sousuke-sama, are you coming back?” Rin asks, “The King…he’s...upset.”

The raven in question sighs, scratching the back of his neck. He looks at a confused Makoto, and then at a hesitant Rin.

“I am. Tell him that.”

Makoto stays silent the whole time, taking in their conversation. Few things make sense, but those that do blow his mind nonetheless. He feels like the life he’s been leading since Rin’s disappearance is all a lie, and the thought of that makes him want to go home and sleep it all away. Only, he knows it will be for naught.

He has many questions, but for now he enjoys Rin’s company. The merman tells him tales from the deep, which are more colourful than expected; of the wonderful marine life that are his playmates, of the gorgeous undersea structures that have stood the test of time. Makoto’s stories are far from colourful, but he tells them nonetheless; of Ren and Ran and how they are slowly blossoming into young teenagers he can be proud of, of Gou and her hollow smile. The last story sees a vague flash of pain cross through those red irises, but it disappears soon enough.

“Thank you,” the redhead says, looking as if he might cry, but without the tears, “Please tell her, if you can, that I’m sorry, that I’m fine where I am and for her to be happy.”

They continue, and laugh. They laugh, and Makoto cries as they talk. He misses Rin oh so much, and he will treasure what is left of this rare moment with all he has, for he doesn’t know if they will ever speak again.

A starry veil continues to watch over their conversation, but they have to leave. Makoto hugs the redhead the tightest he can, and then again it’s goodbye indefinitely. They make no promises to meet again, and the brunet walks back to where Sousuke stares at the full moon, legs crossed and all.

“...I should go too.” he states, as soon as Makoto sits down beside him.

“I guess.”

Makoto doesn’t know what he’s supposed to say. His hollow heart is just going to get inevitably hollower, and there is no helping that.

“But first,” the raven says, “I owe you my story.”

Sousuke begins a tale from the deepest waters. He’s a prince, one of many, from the undersea kingdom Iwatobi so fears. They are a happy land, where everything is abundant, and where wars rarely happen. He tells the story of the tattoo on his arm, of the scar upon it. The merpeople are not immune to the predators of the deep, and in a terrible accident, he almost loses the use of his right arm. The destroyed tattoo stops him from using the powers blessed upon him at birth, and since then he’s been thrown nothing but pitiful and condescending looks.

Thus he ran away, sort of. He doesn’t run far from the sea, but he doesn’t return either. He uses what magic he knows to disguise his lower half, and with that he gets by, a life as an ordinary merperson...person, free of pity. His original intentions include returning in one lunar cycle, but he changes his mind.

He changes his mind because he meets a human named Tachibana Makoto, someone who treats him for who he is.

Sousuke’s gaze is nothing but gentle, as he strokes the side of Makoto’s face, tracing his jawline. The brunet feels the fear, the hesitance at the touch of his long fingers. He puts his hand on top of the other’s, and lets the feelings he’s been suppressing for a month fill his hollow and weary heart and mind. It’s a great relief, but this forbidden relationship, what is he supposed to do?

The raven removes his hand, and he walks towards the edge of the shore, letting his toes touch the sea foam, and the waves crash over his ankles.

Makoto watches the other as he sits down and mutters a string of words in a language he can’t identify. Sousuke’s lower half starts to glow, and blur. The magic swirls and winds around the limbs, and when the glow abates, all that’s left is a gorgeous tail covered with the finest turqoise, an artistic masterpiece that must have been gifted by the undersea gods. Sousuke looks like a god himself in that moment, and Makoto feels as if his heart might never beat again.

He beckons to the brunet, and when Makoto steps forward, he presses the necklace from before into his hands.

"To you I feel love,” Sousuke says, almost whispering, “But to me, I don't believe you do."

“Sousuke…”

“Keep it. And I’m sorry for everything you had to go through.”

Makoto feels his heart shatter into a thousand pieces.

“I’ll make it as if we never met, you’ll remember your friends but you won’t remember me...it’s goodbye, Makoto.”

And then he feels those pieces shatter further into a million.

Sousuke disappears into the dark waves in a swift movement, and Makoto is left stranded on the beach. No answer comes back even with his incessant yelling, and it really does feel like the end of what has been precious to him for months. His walk home is slow and painful, yet sleep seems to come easily enough. He tries to cling onto what he remembers of Sousuke the merprince, and lets himself slip into a peaceful darkness.

Morning comes with a rude awakening by his alarm clock, and for a few seconds Makoto is confused.

Then the memories flood back in full force, and he jolts out of bed. By some miracle, he remembers every single detail of the night before. His hands are no longer his own as he picks up a pencil and starts scribbling on an empty page in his notebook. He’s not even sure of what he’s writing because tears flood every corner of his vision, and he feels a couple drip onto the abused paper. He drops the writing instrument as soon as he is done, and picks up his phone to send a message.

_“Hey Gou, sorry for waking you up this early, but I really need to tell you something.”_

Makoto slips out of his pajamas and into his outing wear. He makes his bed, and he leaves his notebook open right in the middle of it.

_“I know where your brother is, and I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that one detail. He told me to tell you he’s alright, that he’s fine where he is, and he wants you to be happy.”_

He shuts off his phone, and places it face down on his study table, beside his neatly arranged notes. He hugs a photo of his family one last time, and then slowly puts it back down.

_“If this sounds like I’m saying goodbye too...I am. I hope you can understand how difficult it is for me, and how I also can’t tell you where I’ll be going.”_

The only worldly possessions he takes with him are his keys and the necklace. He’s silent as his sleeping sister as he gently unlocks, and then locks the front door. He looks up, takes in the door, the house he’s grown up in, and bites his lip. He hardens his resolve, and then he takes off.

_“Thanks for the memories, and please smile again, Gou. Love, Makoto.”_

Makoto has never run faster in his life, and even as his lungs yell at him to stop, he doesn’t. He carries on until he sees the shore, and after a short break he runs further, to where the sandy parts gradient into tall hard rocks, which lead up to a cliff. He makes sure not to be seen the entire time, and the edge is deserted, thankfully.

He walks forward, right to the very edge, putting on the necklace as he goes. He feels like he’s in some kind of trance, and without a second to waste, he dives in.

The impact is softer than he expects, the undercurrent of the angry waves much calmer than is visible. The strength of the water pulls him further out to sea, and Makoto is losing oxygen, fast, but he refuses to surface. Doing so would undo everything he’s set out to accomplish. He even tries to dive deeper, in hopes that his glowing necklace is doing something to call the only one he’s doing this for.

A shadow flits past the corner of his eye, and he thinks he sees the teal coloured eyes he so yearns for, but it must be his imagination. He’s suddenly so, so tired, and he closes his eyes for a nap.

Makoto wakes up in darkness, and he blinks a few times. He doesn’t recognise where he is, but he most definitely is floating. A large figure swims by him, holding his hand, and he meets mysterious teal eyes. Sousuke smirks, cheekiness lighting up his entire face, and the brunet realises what has happened. He tries to move his lower body, and is greeted with a powerful current propelling him forwards. His new appendage shimmers like emeralds carefully layered on top of one another, and he is awestruck.

The two swim, and eventually there is light. Makoto is suddenly hit by the magnitude of his rash actions, and he hiccups, but the tears don’t come. Merpeople have no tear ducts, he thinks to himself bitterly. They have no need for them.

His friends, his family...he’s left them all behind. He was once at the top of the world, and now he’s plummeted to the bottom, literally. The brunet doesn’t stop swimming, he can’t stop. An irreversible decision has been made, and he will honour it. The only way he can go is forward, and that he does.

Makoto swims deeper and deeper, letting the eerie darkness consume him whole. He lets himself be guided by Sousuke, feeling the weight on his heart get lighter the further down he goes.

By the time he reaches the eutopia Sousuke has so proudly spoken of, he feels as light as a feather, free as a fish.

Now why hadn’t he just agreed in the first place?

**Author's Note:**

> Will leave the ending to your intepretation ;)
> 
> You can follow me on my personal tumblr blog at https://midori-emmi.tumblr.com AND/OR my FFnet account https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2638242/Midori-Emmi (where my older fics are)


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